Time Capsule trades, legends and collection goals
Plan original Gold/Silver trading, held-item evolutions and legendary encounters before chasing every Pokédex entry.
Original Gold and Silver cartridges: Japan in 1999, Australia and North America in 2000, Europe in 2001. These releases run on Game Boy with enhanced color on Game Boy Color; the Korean editions require Game Boy Color. Crystal and the DS HeartGold/SoulSilver remakes have different events and encounters. The 3DS Virtual Console releases change the link method to local wireless.
Keep ordinary trades and Time Capsule trades separate
Gold, Silver and Crystal can exchange compatible Pokémon through their link facilities. The Time Capsule opens after meeting Bill in Ecruteak and waiting for its repairs, allowing trades with the original Generation I games. Its party restrictions exclude Generation II species, Eggs, Pokémon holding Mail and moves introduced in Generation II. Use a compatible Generation I party for that visit. Cartridge releases use a Game Link Cable; Virtual Console editions use local wireless instead.
Prepare the correct held item for a trade evolution
Generation II keeps the familiar trade evolutions and adds item-dependent ones. For example, Onix holding a Metal Coat becomes Steelix when traded, while Scyther holding the same item becomes Scizor. The item is consumed by the evolution. Agree on the return trade before transferring a valued teammate, and inspect the item actually held rather than only the bag. The original cartridges cannot directly trade into the Game Boy Advance generation; later transfer features do not change that hardware rule.
Catch the legends with your edition in mind
Tin Tower: native map and interior graphics assembled from the original Pokémon Gold/Silver game data. .
Whirl Islands: native map and interior graphics assembled from the original Pokémon Gold/Silver game data. .
Both games can eventually obtain Ho-Oh and Lugia, but their access items and levels differ. Gold's Ho-Oh and Silver's Lugia are level 40; the other cover legend is level 70 and requires the later wing obtained in Pewter City. Raikou, Entei and Suicune roam after the Burned Tower event in these originals. Save before fixed encounters, carry plenty of balls and choose a catching plan that avoids an accidental knockout. The 251-species database includes Mew and Celebi, which are outside ordinary event-free collection.
Choose a realistic completion target: sixteen badges, Red, selected legends and available trades can be tracked separately from unavailable event Pokémon.
Picture details
Game artwork belongs to its respective rights holders.